[Bangkok Post] Thailand's 4th Army commander has brushed aside concerns over the leadership change in the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) separatist movement. Lt Gen Piyawat Nakwanich said yesterday that authorities were not overly worried about the situation. Lt Gen Piyawat, however, insisted action would be taken against the BRN if it stirred up unrest, admitting the new leader might try to prove himself by acts of violence. The BRN appointed Doonloh Wae-mano, who uses the nom du guerre Abdullah Wan Mat Noor as Supreme Leader and secretary-general of the Dewan Pimpinan Parti (DPP) or Party Leadership Council, as its new chairman. The BRN's leadership council unanimously voted for Doonloh-Abdullah to head the organisation, which is made up of three BRN bodies -- the BRN-Ulama, the BRN-Congress and the BRN-Coordinate -- under its umbrella. The appointment, which took effect on Jan 17, followed the death of the DPP's former chairman Sapae-ing Basor late last year.
Abdullah is wanted for treason under a Department of Special Investigation arrest warrant. A former headmaster of the notorious Jihad Witthaya School in Pattani, he fled to Malaysia 13 years ago after being charged with training separatists on his school's grounds, sources said. Authorities accuse him of training the insurgents who took part in looting more than 400 assault rifles from a military camp in Narathiwat province in 2004. That raid marked the latest upsurge in separatist attacks, now in its 14th year.
Zachary Abuza, an expert on the deep South and professor at the National War College in Washington, said, "Abdullah Wan Mat Noor [Doonloh] was appointed the DPP's Secretary in 2016, so he is as known a quantity as a shadowy insurgency that delights in the secrecy its inner workings can have. Since September, 2016, he has been the BRN's Number 2, so it seems normal that he would be appointed chairman."
In other changes, the BRN named Abdul Munir as secretary-general of political affairs, Din Wan Cik as military chief and Muhd Arsad Wansor as the group's treasurer. Hasan Khatib was chosen to head international political affairs and Bustaman Salih was named as a party consultant.
One BRN member said he was happy Abdullah was the new BRN leader because he was an able military tactician, which made up for his lack of political experience.